McCormick in running for Best Minor League Ballpark

Thursday

Jul 18, 2013 at 8:27 PM

Every baseball stadium has a story. Asheville’s historic McCormick Field has many.

By DEAN HENSLEYTimes-News Staff Writer

Every baseball stadium has a story. Asheville’s historic McCormick Field has many.Built in 1924, it’s one of the oldest minor-league ballparks still in use; its right-field wall is the second-highest wall in all of professional baseball; it was once a race-car track, and it was where Crash Davis hit his final home run in the movie “Bull Durham.”Now it has yet another story: It is one of 20 finalists for the Best Minor League Ballparks category in the 2013 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Award, according to The USA Today Travel Media Group.With voters’ help, it could add another story as the Best Minor League Ballpark in the nation. Fans can go to www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-minor-league-ballpark/ to cast their votes. The winner will be announced at 10best.com on Aug. 14.McCormick Field was constructed in 1924 and was named after Asheville’s own Dr. Lewis McCormick. While it’s been home to the Tourists over the years, it was also home to the Asheville Blues of the Negro Southern League during the 1940s.While it is considered a hitters’ ballpark, the right-field wall towers over batters at 36 feet, just one foot, two inches shy of Fenway Park’s Green Monster in Boston.McCormick also made national headlines in 1988 with the release of “Bull Durham.” Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner, played for the Tourists near the end of the film and in the final scene at McCormick watched his home run clear the left-field wall.The other ballpark in the movie, Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, is also among the 20 finalists for Best Minor League Ballpark.